MAY – JUNE 2024
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A validated questionnaire that has already been answered by around 6.000 people revealed that 60% have a moderate or high risk of developing the disease.

Worldwide, almost 1 in 10 adults between 20 and 79 years old live with diabetes. And in Argentina in particular, the prevalence of the disease rose from 8,4% in 2009 to 12,7% in 2018, which accompanies an increase in the levels of sedentary lifestyle and excess weight. Addressing this problem is a public health priority.
Within the framework of a broader project aimed at improving the prevention, detection and control of diabetes in 3 districts of Argentina (Salta, San Juan and Tandil), the Chronic Diseases Research Department is leading the use of a questionnaire validated that can be answered in a few minutes and determines the risk of developing the disease in the next ten years. This tool can help raise awareness and facilitate the implementation of early interventions.
The questionnaire, called FINDRISC and used worldwide, is freely accessible through the following link. It allows you to know your own risk of developing diabetes.
So far, around 6.000 people have responded to the questionnaire and more than 60% presented moderate or high risk, although this proportion may vary depending on the selected population. When a person is identified as more likely to have diabetes, they are encouraged to consult with their doctor and adopt lifestyle changes, including healthy eating and physical activity.
In addition to detecting people at risk, the ongoing project includes other components, such as the following:
- Training of health personnel: University courses were taught for 146 doctors, 120 nurses, 170 health workers and 136 educators. They were also carried out other training activities for 9.300 health workers.
- Self-care workshops: 5.750 participated.
- Control panel design to improve patient monitoring.
- Approach to gestational diabetes: 12.300 pregnant women were monitored and 1079 were detected with gestational diabetesl.
- Sending reminder messages to participants to increase adherence to treatment: more than 50 thousand were sent.
The initiative, which was disseminated in more than 60 social media posts and journalistic articles, has financing from the World Diabetes Foundation (WDF).
See infographic about this work here
By Dr. Analía Nejamis, Medical epidemiologist and health education specialist, researcher at the IECS Chronic Diseases Research Department.